While several dozen House Republican legislators—including the entire leadership team—held a news conference Tuesday to implore on Gov. Tom Wolf to sign a controversial Human Services Code bill, the governor said he is still holding firm on his promise to veto the legislation.

Legislators from both parties in either chamber of the legislature have started the process of seeking support from fellow members to combine the Departments of Human Services, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Aging into a consolidated Department of Health and Human Services.

The proposal—first articulated by Gov. Tom Wolf in his February budget address—has been carried forward in a spending plan crafted by House Republicans currently under consideration in the Senate after it passed the House just two weeks ago.

Continuing to seek government efficiencies and consolidation instead of broad-based tax increases to balance the coming fiscal year’s budget, Gov. Tom Wolf formally announced Monday the long-rumored consolidation of four state agencies into one Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the administration, the four agencies that will be consolidated are the Department of Human Services, Department of Health, Department of Aging, and Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

A ray of hope broke through the proverbial clouds of Pennsylvania’s budget impasse Monday as a budget bill from the five-party framework agreement headed to the governor with the passage of the Public Welfare—now Human Services—Code bill.

Another budget bill, the Administrative Code, was sent back to the Senate for them to review changes made by the House.

However, as bills continue to chug along, questions are still lingering for members about questions concerning how the budget is going to be paid for, how budget dollars are going to be distributed to public schools, and even some of the procedure behind how the process will move forward.

Rep. Rick Saccone (R-Allegheny) was beside himself Monday morning as he emerged early from a closed-door House Republican caucus meeting, where he told a small gathering of reporters that leaders from his caucus are telling members that they’re going to have to accept the $30.8 billion spend number as part of the budget framework.

“We’re just going to accept a $1.2 billion tax increase,” he asked. “We’re not going to push back on it?”